Beauty on a Budget

Can you believe this gorgeous centerpiece cost less than $20 to create?! For the cranberry-filled vase, we employed an easy trick: place a smaller dollar-store glass cylinder inside a larger one, then pour fresh cranberries into the gap between the two vases. For the flowers, we mixed a few grocery-store blooms with dried millet and faux dill blooms. Silk and dried flowers can be used year after year, making them a great way to stretch your holiday decorating budget.

Put Vintage Pieces to Work

An old dough bowl or wood trencher makes a great low centerpiece when filled with seasonal pumpkins, gourds, pinecones and flowering branches. Our step-by-step instructions make it easy to recreate this oh-so-trendy, rustic look.

Decorate With Dessert

Try a fresh take on Thanksgiving's traditional cornucopia by serving up healthy and not-so-healthy bite-size treats on a series of stacked servers. No need for guests to leave the table to grab dessert at the end of the feast, the perfect ending to their meal is within easy reach.

Go Big With Stacked Baskets

A pair of nested baskets, floral foam and a few blooms from the store or your backyard are all you need to craft this florist quality stunner. Our step-by-step instructions make this DIY decoration a snap.

Or, Petite With a Teapot

Incorporate family heirlooms by crafting a sweet centerpiece using an inherited (or thrifted) antique teapot, surrounded by other vintage finds, like this pair of porcelain quail. For a colorful display, we filled our teapot with seeded eucalyptus, fern fronds, large and small chrysanthemums and hypericum berries.

Embrace Symmetry

If your centerpiece will consist of more than one arrangement, position them symmetrically for a balanced look. Here, designer Marian Parsons created an edible centerpiece with two stacked cake plates in the center flanked by two slightly shorter floral arrangements in white stoneware pitchers that have a similar shape but aren't matchy-matchy. Get more of Marian's tips for creating a harvest-inspired centerpiece.

Or, Opt for Asymmetry

While a perfectly balanced, symmetrical table is certainly beautiful, asymmetry lends a more dynamic look. For our centerpiece, we created a layered effect that incorporates the romance of candlelight with the rustic textures of wood and lots of fall color via an assortment of fresh and faux gourds, silk sunflowers and dried seed pods.

Mix High With Low

Designer Camille Styles pairs rustic elements like beeswax candles, gourds and a salvaged wooden board as a table runner with a porcelain footed dish overflowing with greenhouse blooms. Her arrangement contains roses, hydrangea, dahlias, copper amaranth and ranunculus with a few sprigs of fall greenery, grasses and berries to signify the season. Get more of Camille's tips.

Make It Edible

A centerpiece you can eat? Yes, please! Make an edible bread cornucopia for your Thanksgiving table using refrigerated bread dough, aluminum foil and a single egg. Fill with sweet and savory nibbles for an impressive centerpiece that’ll keep your guests happily munching while they wait for dinner to begin. Our step-by-step instructions show you how or watch the quick vid.

Faux Can Be Fabulous

For a centerpiece that'll last all through this fall season (and for many more to come), swap fresh elements for faux. For this rustic-meets-refined centerpiece, Chelsea Faulkner filled a doughbowl with faux mini pumpkins and greenery, interspersed with cotton stems, dried grasses and pinecones.

Craft a Living Centerpiece

In just a few steps, you can transform a faux or fresh pumpkin into a rustic planter for assorted succulents. Surrounded by other fall elements, this garden craft makes a charming, living centerpiece for your fall or Thanksgiving table.

Get Tips From Our Pro

Putting together a gorgeous centerpiece may seem intimidating but, really, it's far simpler than you may think. Before shelling out big bucks at your local florist; check out our 7 tips from a floral-arranging pro.

Make a Ship-Shape Centerpiece

Seriously, how clever is this? Follow our step-by-step instructions to learn how to make the mast and sail then place it in a long, low container filled with snacks your guests can enjoy before the big meal.

Try a Modern Twist

Floral designer Lindsay Coletta gave the idea of a traditional Thanksgiving cornucopia a modern twist with this sumptuous arrangement. She used wet floral foam to anchor an assortment of greenery scavenged from her backyard along with splashes of color courtesy of ornamental cabbage, dahlias and persimmon branches. Get all Lindsay's tips for recreating this look.

Don't Forget the Kids' Table

For most families, setting up a separate kids' table is as much a Thanksgiving tradition as turkey and pumpkin pie. When setting up their space, don't forget the centerpiece — fill vases with sweet, savory or healthy snacks to keep little pilgrims happily munching. Learn how to craft your own.

Opt for Rustic and Refined

To create a show-stopping arrangement, rely on contrast. Designer Erinn Valencich contrasts both color and style by pairing magenta cockscomb, dahlia and calla lilies with chartreuse mums for pop then sliding this sophisticated arrangement into an earthy birch-bark container.

Put It In a Pitcher

Skip the standard vase and get creative when choosing a container for your arrangement. Vintage pitchers and teapots are great for tall arrangements while creamers and sugar bowls are just the right height for low ones. Follow these step-by-step instructions to recreate this beautiful centerpiece in any container you have on hand at home.

Keep It Simple

Designer Susana Simonpietri of Chango & Co proves that simple can be chic with the monochromatic table setting in this eclectic dining room. White hydrangeas are a great centerpiece choice for your Thanksgiving table — you need just a few blooms to create an artful arrangement that'll last for two weeks or more.

Get a Little Help From the Kids

Get an assist from the kiddos to craft this easy focal point. Use our free template to cut leaf shapes from colorful card stock you can attach to bare branches gathered in the backyard. Before dinner, ask your guests to write what they're most thankful for on the leaves or just leave them blank. Get crafting with our step-by-step instructions.

Go Flower Free

Designer Layla Palmer surrounded trendy pheasant feathers with layers of nuts and moss to create a centerpiece that's autumnal, rustic and, unlike flowers, requires no maintenance to keep its good looks. Make your own with our step-by-step instructions.

Create Casual Arrangements for a Casual Get-Together

For low-fuss affairs, keep the floral arrangements low-key as well. Just clip a bunch of grocery store blooms to the same height as your vase, then pop the whole bunch in water.

Add Some Sparkle

Give leftover Halloween pumpkins or gourds a glamorous makeover with gold, silver or copper leaf. Faux pumpkins are best because you can store them to display year after year. Learn how to get this look.

Try a New Hue

There are no hard-set rules that state you MUST use only oranges and golds for your Thanksgiving centerpiece — mix it up and choose flowers in whatever color you choose. Here, designer Manvi Drona Hidalgo used copper amaranth, white astilbe, silver brunia berries, echinacea, gomphrenia, Dutch hydrangea and sweet Annie artemisia to create a real show-stopper.

Stack a Centerpiece

For an earthy focal point, skip the flowers and instead stack heirloom variety blue, green and gray pumpkins in graduated sizes to create a rustic topiary. Remove the stems from all but the top pumpkin to create a stable base.

Keep It Casual

A Thanksgiving centerpiece doesn't have to be formal or stuffy. Take a cue from designer Lauren Liess and fill the center of the table with fresh herbs, gourds and colorful fall foliage.

Make It Munchable

Add an edible touch to any centerpiece with fresh fruit. Skewers of grapes are a crowd-pleasing choice and will stay fresh almost as long as the flowers. Other good choices are skewered pears, apples or citrus fruit. Get crafting with our step-by-step instructions.

Or, Make a Woodsy One

Break Out the Good China

Hand-me-down pieces, like this antique soup tureen, are too pretty to keep locked away in a cupboard — put them to work as an eye-catching container for your Thanksgiving centerpiece. To protect your heirloom, use it as a cachepot, creating the arrangement in a smaller container that you then place within the antique.

Bring on the Brass

Although it may be hard to accept for those of us who've purged our homes of '70s brass tchotchkes, brass is back big time. Designer Manvi Drona-Hidalgo lined her table with brass elements large and small for a glamorous, glowing effect.

Use Upcycled Containers

An old cheese box, filled with floral foam, serves as a conversation-starting container for this low centerpiece of white cabbage roses, pittosporum and silvery Dusty Miller. Small brown bottles, filled with more blooms and clippings, give the small centerpiece greater visual impact.

Opt for Timeless Elegance

Compact flowers like ranunculus and roses are the perfect choice for a traditional centerpiece. For added texture, fill in with sprays of greenery or fall-blooming foliage like Scotch heather or 'Autumn Joy' sedum. Image courtesy of Kat Flower

Get a Pro Look on the Cheap

Skip the florist and craft this pro-looking centerpiece yourself with fresh citrus, flowers and greenery picked up at your local grocery store. Our step-by-step instructions show you the trick for creating the lime-lined vase.

Bare Can Be Beautiful

Take a stroll outdoors to gather bare branches for a minimal, flower-free centerpiece. Sculptural and elegant, their slim silhouette won't block the view of other dinner guests or distract from the main event: the food. Design by Manvi Drona-Hidalgo, Mochatini, photo by Lawrence Luk

Go Fuss-Free With Succulents

For a streamlined, modern look, choose succulents. Most garden centers carry these low-maintenance relatives of the cactus year-round. They do well in direct sunlight and when planted together en masse. A shallow container, sandy, well-draining soil and an eye for combining succulents of various colors and shapes are all you need to create a stunning centerpiece that will look great for many months to come. Image courtesy of Viceroy Miami

Turn Fresh Apples into a Rustic Centerpiece

Our step-by-step instructions show you how to put fall's bounty on display by covering a foam topiary form with sprigs of fresh greenery and apples or pears.

The More, the Merrier

At a large table (this one seats eight) consider using several small centerpieces rather than a single grand one. Here, a glass bowl filled with crabapples creates a low centerpiece while silver cups brimming with peach rosebuds add color and interest to each place setting. Image courtesy of Blackberry Farm; Photography by beall + thomas

Bring the Outdoors In

An informal Thanksgiving buffet calls for a laid-back centerpiece. Designer Camille Styles filled an earthenware jug with fall-blooming grasses, leaves and berries for a quick and colorful arrangement.

Cheery Sunflowers

These sturdy late-summer bloomers look their best when grouped together en masse. As you add sunflowers to the vase, be sure to turn them so each flower faces out. To extend their freshness, add a little floral preservative or bleach to the vase and be sure to change the water every few days.

Add the Unexpected

A footed copper pot is a beautiful container for this mounded arrangement featuring calla lilies, white hydrangeas, gloriosa lilies, freesia, viburnum and green hanging amaranthus. Delicate paper butterflies resting among the flowers add a touch of whimsy and will have guests doing a double-take. Table setting by Manvi Drona-Hidalgo; Photography by Julie Eisel

Sometimes More is More

For an extra-long dining table, a single centerpiece may feel skimpy. Instead, line the center of the table with several small arrangements, interspersed with candles of varying heights to add a magical glow.

Upcycle Old Lumber

Basic carpentry skills and tools are all you need to turn wood fence pickets or any leftover lumber into a long, low wooden container that's a lovely Thanksgiving centerpiece when filled with greenery, apples and bundles of cinnamon sticks. Make your own with our step-by-step instructions.

Craft a Seasonal Centerpiece

Follow our step-by-step instructions to turn inexpensive silk leaves into a sleek tray that resembles fine porcelain. Fill with fresh fruit or a candle and acorns or pinecones for a fuss-free centerpiece.

Keep It Long and Low

Low centerpieces are popular because they allow easy conversation between dinner guests. To re-create this look, fill long, shallow vases with flowers and greenery cut short, allowing sprays of greenery or berries to spill over the sides. Slide leafy branches along the vases' sides for a mounded effect.

Add Some Grasses

Fall backyards, fields and gardens are full of grain, ornamental grasses and just plain weeds that are an easy way to add a harvest-themed touch to either a formal or informal centerpiece.

Go Back to Nature

Designer Alissa Ditta let organic texture and color be the star of her centerpiece. She filled glass hurricanes with candles, moss and grapevine then surrounded them with potted succulents, votives and twig balls.

Don't Skip the Produce Aisle

For added interest, mix fall fruits and vegetables with traditional flowers for a florist-worthy centerpiece. Persimmons, pears, apples and grapes are fruits to consider; squash, artichokes, asparagus and winter cabbage are good vegetable choices. Skewered with picks, the produce should look fresh in the arrangement as long as the flowers — about a week. Make your own with our step-by-step instructions.

Go Crazy for Color

Although most people choose traditional fall colors for their arrangements, there's no hard-and-fast rule. So, match your arrangement to your dining room, china pattern, favorite necklace — whatever you'd like. That's one of the great things about flowers; they come in all the colors of the rainbow. Image courtesy of Kat Flower

Contain Your Arrangement

For a twist on a traditional centerpiece, place flowers inside a tall glass cyliner and add just enough water to submerge the stem ends. Guests will still be able to enjoy the flowers' beauty without a tall arrangement blocking their view of each other.

Sub Veggies for Flowers

Pair ornamental kale with asparagus to create a stunning (and edible!) centerpiece for your fall get-together or Thanksgiving dinner. Make your own with our step-by-step instructions.

Turn One Into Many

Typcially composed of a variety of flowers, filler and greenery, grocery store bouquets are a great money-saving option when you need to spread the floral love around. Just separate the different elements and use them to create multiple small arrangements.